FORMATION OF COAL AND CARBONACEOUS MINERALS. 1 35 



I. II. III. 



Carbon 79.6 79.67 73.66 



Hydrogen 11.2 12.9i> 11.37 



Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Sulphur* 9.1 7.41 14.97 



99.9 100.00 100.00 



I subjected some carefully selected cork in thin shavings, as the 

 nearest substitute for adipo-cellulose to a rapid red heat and also 

 pure cellulose and obtained the following ratios : — 



Fixed Carbon. Volatilf- matter. 



Ash 1 : 5.245 



Cellulose ... 1 : 7.916 



As under no conceivable conditions could the ratio of volatile 

 matter be increased during the conversion into mineral the 

 similarity in composition goes for nothing. 



It has been suggested by someone that the shales are the 

 products of resinous spores of some plant. From the persistent 

 fatty products of distillation I think resin must be abandoned as 

 I'esins pass more to aromatics. It appears to me more probable 

 that shale comes from some oil or wax producing plant, more 

 likely the latter, in view of the considerable yield of solid paraffin. 



The shale at Joadja Creek is very uniform in texture, there is 

 here and there a starlike speck of so called jet, and rarely a 

 ribbon-like piece of the same running through a block, perhaps 

 an inch or so wide and barely an eight of an inch thick. As there 

 is bituminous coal above, these may represent resinous roots, but 

 I could not get any for examination in time for this paper. At 

 Joadja there is a ligno-cellulose coal below — a wax shale in the 

 middle, and a resinous ligno-cellulose coal above. 



Several other points have occurred to me since I promised this 

 paper for the meeting of the Association, but pressure of other 

 work has prevented me going into them. 



Addendum, September 29th. — Since writing the above paper I 

 have found in my notes an analysis of the best Joadja Creek 

 shale for which I had before looked in vain. In the first column 

 is given the analysis, in the second the carbon, hydrogen and 

 oxygen only, eliminating the other ingredients as extraneous — ■ 

 in the third the numbers for the fornmla C.^ Hg^ Oo, that is a 

 paraffin with 4 H replaced by 2 O (calculated). 



*The sulphur and nitrogen are very small in these shales. The only difference is an 

 increase of carbon and a decrease of oxygen in the shales. 



